Engine or the like



Jan. 6, 1931.

" P. c. SMITH ENGINE 0R THE LIKE Filed March so. 192s /P Maf/VMM 5y Mv Cm3 Wo i' Patented Jan. 6. 1931 I ERRYeox- E SMITH, on BRONXVILLE, ,NEW .YQRK

Application eigenaresse',

'- This invention is faLi'aovlel.y engine or the' llike;especially en internal=-conibustionengine Asnchffor enaniple5 las 1s fused onautomobilesgthe invention relatingifnioreiespeciaillyitofthe c Cylinder and piston 'off such enginepthe 'features y'of noveltybeiiigienbodiecl Vipsinticm'letrly in ne construction-endoperetioniofthe piston, es will bel'herein more lfully explained.

The generel `,objects Aof ith-e invention vin- "vanteges the .presen-t invention consists in the "inde the improvement l in the "'-oonstruction and operation-of ithe .piston 'ofa'n engine iin relation yto the vcylinderiendto the connecting rod, inthefimproved "coopeneftion 'between the piston cylinde'nlend thefi'inproved lac-- tion end interconnection between the'fcon- -necting rod and piston. y

I forni and Eunchangeeble ltl-ieloperativelafela.-

tion between the .piston andv cylinder clearance betweenthepiston 'fende ILiIieLeLr.`

. piston there 'is a constant 'tendency to weer,Y

`which is inor'e pronounced et what lmay `'be torinod the thrust fpoints, coming =sllil'A Y fawaiy, ofthe piston and connecting. rod de- *tached yfrom Tthe remainder of the engine. f v

tiaflly the intersection with the cylindrical surface of 4central fplanestanding 'fait .right en of une present invention' "to ico pensatemore especially for Vsuch Ween thus improving fthe action end lifeofftheengine. A-fnrtherfobject lisio afford afpistonhavingfthe property of eXpensibility,` for iresilience "'of fcircnllniference, lthrs serving'the'pwrposedf aillowingffor heat expansion ofthe 4ine'tal witho binding,-

es wel-l the purpose of-ezep'aislb ity to a 'minute degree to take u-paund'uejtilearanee resnltlngffrom weer; and to provid-ie yfor' Ithe eutoinait'ic bodily expansion' of the piston to compensate for wear.

Another object ofthe inventionisto -al'fl'ord a construction of piston in whi'ehithelopefative forces are `s0 ffaf'pfplied es to minirnize' fthel f objectionable lresiil'tsY 'due 'to the pull and :thrust olf-the piston rod.: A funtherfohjeotlis to improve the relation ,between piston "and piston Lrodby an' arrangement 'substantially eliminating the difficulties of wear between them. il further object ris 1'to .fa'iford fa A'cones to the-lciienk-shaft; iaind'lit isen object n p lng e top Aplan view of Lthe detached piston, ,1; While the right side 1s .a transversefor horistruction t-'otf `engine wherein the lubrication l "betweenthecylinder, piston and piston redis improvedand simplified. Other objects' and advantages of #the invention willA be made `clear fin/the hereinafter following description lof :an illustrative embodiment thereof or will lbe-'apparent to Lthose-co'nverisa'nt with the sub- .je'ct metter. l K

.To theiattainmentlof such objects and eclnovel engine or the like,including piston,

features of operation,Jcornbinatiom arrangement, constructien'fand detail herein illustre-ted or described. s

-n1the1accompanying drawings 'F ig. 1 is a vgeneral central Cross section o'f sufficient of :an .engine to. explain vthe ypresent invention, .withtcertain .portions shown in'elevation. In 'the Vdescription hereof iwe shall assume-an .engine finrwhich the l'crank shaft isbeneath A 'the piston'andcylinder,but-in using the terms np,.down vertical, and the like,r we are doing 'so only in jafrelativ'e sense since manifestly the parts may cbe turned to various positions.

Fig. 22 isia perspective view, partly broken vFigz isecoinbined View7 the left side be-v Azontel section o'fthe piston taken on the-line of Fig. 'l'. n 1 Fig.` eti-is Va fhorizontail section taken on lthe The engine vcylinder comprises thecylin- Idr'io'al Wall 10,-andfspeced :therefrom outer Walls 11 -alifor-din'g water jackets., and these :are shown to enclose a combustion chamber 12 of one well lznown type, although any other forni can vbe employed; and the clearance 'at the :end of the pistoninay be substenti-silly Ias*'indicated at i8. The' four cycle vengine :may vheassulrned, and valves 14 are indicated for rthe Eadmission and dis- ;cliargelfroin' the coinbnsticm spece, as well `es `.an igriting device or spar plug 115 kfor causing explosions :of gas mixture. The piston, .indicated :generally 1:tt 17, 'is shown con; i `Jgiectedby aired 18 with lthe usual crank shaft Qcylsinder and connecting rod, 'and thef'novel y 19. These general arrangements are illusi. trative ofv one type of engine in which the present invention may be used, the essential featuresl of which, as described below, being applicable in various vother ways to advantage.

means of horizontal slots formed at V23),vv with vertical metal 24 between the slotsV and/cennecting the two sections, and .dividedcircum .ferentially by vert-ical or vrlongitudinal slots 25 through the `upper section 21 and'long'if tudinal vslots 26 through the lowersection 22...- ,Preferably these features are inA duplicate and arranged symmetrically with'V respect to` Y the plane of oscillationor thrust of the cionnecting rod. Thus the Vupper Vertical slotsv the tl'irustpoints, while the uniting portions Y of met-al 24; are opposite" to `each lother but.

25 are opposite to each other andzadjacent-to spaced 90 fromthe slots 25, and the lower slots- 26 may be extended into the nieta-l portions 24C and downwardly to the klower edge of the skirt'22r' In this way theparts ofthe piston may be integral or unitarily united,`while `the sleeve as a whole and at each part is circumferentially expansible; and the several longitudinal slots may be ofrv appreciable widthxto' permit relative circum- `lferential contraction so that .the piston sleeve I may yield and prevent binding when under Vtendency to expand from' excesslteniperature.

the compressionband 21 of the piston sleeve, v is shown formed with a series of criterion g grooves toreceive piston rings 28,three befV The uppersection, or what mayfbe termed Y ing shown, of the oil wiping type, circumferentially resiliently expansibleinto contact z withthe cylinder. The pistonisection 21 is i1 open.v at the top yexcept* as it kis lclosed by the Arocking dome occupying it, aswill `be kdescribed. Theiniierside ofthe top edge of 29 for the purposeof positioning and confining a pressure lining or lcompensating ring 30. This may be arranged to-bear eX- pansiblyV against the outer sleeve and is shown as having lan offset slit at 31,; and the ring 30 has its interior surfaceA constituted ofV spherical curvature tov cooperate with the exterior surface contour of the dome. vThe upper section 21 of the piston-sleeve, at each cside, may be recessed at a place exterior to the y pressure lining 30raiid intersecting the ver` tical slot 25, so as to receive Va keypiece lor baffle 33, which straddles thevslot and contacts the ring 30 thus precluding downflow The piston 17 ,or rather the sleeve-*portion thereof, which runs in contact with thecylinsleeve,"a pair of arc shape pieces or plates 35 adapted to constitute guides or bearings for the hoop or archextensions of the dome velementto be described; each ofthe arc guides 35 being braced and stiffened by a web 36.

, `The `dome or spherical head 40 which has y already been referred to is structurally a portion of the upper end or head of the connecting rod 18, but functionally is substan- :tiallyfa portion -of-the piston itself. The

spherical dome oscillates or rocks with the "motionof the connecting rod and in doing so vbears and turns against the interior surface of the pressure'lining or ring 30 in the upper sectionof'the `piston sleeve. Preferably :isomuch of the top ofthe dome as does not .-rockjntdcontact'withgrthe pressure ring is iitruncated asshown'at 41, thisv truncated top surface being substantially flat and horizontal at4 the `extremerpositions of the piston stroke. V; VThe spherical surface of the head is also preferably abbreviated at a level somewhatibelow thegpressure ring, leaving enough of thespherical surfaceintact to maintain always atiglit connection between the dome and-ring as the formerroc'ks, and the head is shown deeper at the thrust points, where the v swing points.

is greatest, thannear the `midway The connection between the spherical dome or head andthe connecting rod` is shown as 1consstingyof;` a hoop or arched extension 42 below the, donieat the two sides, constituting guiding arcseitending concentric with the V lrocking axis of the connecting rod, nainelyat thetwo sideswhere the thrust and pull of the connecting rod 0ccur.` The. hooped or arch exterior contour and continuations of the spherical surface ofthe dome, andthey may lconstitute integral extensions of the side [the rod being` prolongedV to st ifen not only thetrod butLthe arched hoop, the spherical 4dome' Yand the truncated top wall. the piston sleeve is formed with a shoulder AEach of the hoop or arch ertensions of the dome is shown provided with a pair of lugsY vor flanges 415 embracing-the curved hoop the pressure of the explosion. It will be no- -ticedzthat Athe top or truncated wall 41 is at right angles'to the Vlength of the connecting rod and it therefore results that the bulk of the pressure on the dome is transmitted both .directly and longitudinally totherod, in all 'iextendsions a2 are preferably spherical in kpositions' ofthe latter', thuseliminating.a`

Y between the sphere and the cylinder,

part of the objectionable side thrust 4,usually `occurring in ordinary pistons. 'The' arrange-v ment therefore acts quite differently from the ordinary interior wrist pin connectionloe-v tween rod and piston which involves knocks.' and thrusts, which are rapidly accentuated with'theinevitablewear of the connection.-: With the present invention' there is-only if minor strain and pressure between the pistonf: sleeve and spherical head,and the arrange` ment may be considered' .as comprising i a. spherical piston moving in the engine vcylin-V der, with the'piston sleeveas a guide or shoe The mode of automaticcompensation or take-up for wearfwill now'bemore fully described; This operates to take up clearance or looseness as between both sections of the piston sleeve andthe cylinder, also clearance due to wear between the spherical domeand the pressure ring, also the wearv between the hoop extension and hoop guides. Thefprin-k ciple of this part of the improvementis tof s take advantage of the. formation of carbonon portions of the spherical surface to build i up the dimensions or diameter thereof. It willbe manifest thatatyeach side of the spherical dome, adjacent to the'usuallthrust points of thepiston a certain fraction ofthe surface of the sphere will become alternately exposed to the heat of the combustion andconcealed by Contact with the rpressure ring, as partly indicated by dottedflines onFig. 2.-

' The surface portion thus alternately exposed and covered at each side may be described Vas a spherical segment, each of said'V segments having its maximumwidth atv vthe :thrust points and tapering to zero at the intermediate points. When the sphericalsegmentat one side is wholly exposed that at. the; other side is covered, and vice versa. The resultis -that all parts of the areas of both spherical segments are subject to'accretion or building up by the carbonization of lubricantthereon.

rlhe carbon deposit is gradually compressed n and forced into the spherical-surface bythe rubbing contact with the pressure ring, the

deposit being thereby worked in and hardened upon the working surface of thedome.

rllhen the parts are new or well fitting the actionwill tend rather to scrape `olf and remove from the dome the carbon deposit, but as wear progresses the deposit build-s up as `stated ,-thus increasing the effective diameter of the sphere.

orcenter of-e'ach r spherical segmentis diametricallyopposite to oneof the hoop guides 85,@sof1thatthe accretion of diameter of the lspherical dome takes up -any possible clear- `ancebetweenrthe head of the piston rod, including dome `and hoop, and the. contacting surfaces of the piston sleeve, namelythe pres-v sure ring andthe hoop guides. An expansive pressure isproduced by the layer of carbon deposit uponthe sphere and this operates `alongboth inclined diameters, that kis bec tween eachv side of the pressure ring and the opposite hoop guides, to produce an expansion .force tending to enlarge the working diameter of the piston sleeve, at both its upper and lower-sections, which is permitted by the resilient kconstruction of the sleeve as already described.l Therefore when wearl appears be- `tween the piston sleeveand cylinder the describedv expanding or wedging action oper- `ates progressively, as the wear developes, toy

`expand the piston diameter, especially at the thrust points of the piston, thus jtending ,to taleup any developed looseness or clearance ybetween the` piston and cylinder. j I

The deposit iof carbonis morey than ample Vfor the-purposes described and any excess carbon deposit on the spherical segments will be removedby .the vscraping action against thefupper edge of the pressure ring. The .carbon thus scraped from thek spherical surk.face of the dome tends to laccumulate inthe annularv recess 4existing between the domeand sleeve ofthe piston, directly7 above the pressure ring. Thisaccumulation of loose carbon is nota detrimentbutA tends to improve the sealing vof the partsagainst loss of compression at'thispoint. Further excess of loose carbon `at this point-will readily be carried out through the exhaust of the engine. Y

`An advantageous feature of the present 1n- -ventpion is the ability to construct the piston .'witha small'number of parts and withoutthe need of any bolts, studsor other fastenings in assembling them.lv The pressure ring 30 is readily inserted from below, turned into position, compressed slightly and forced up into contact lwith the shoulder 29. The connect- Ving rodand its head, comprising the spherical dome and hoop, is alsorcadilyinserted by a combination of swinging, twisting and rocking motions. `It will thus be clear from Fig. 2 that if the connecting rod be disconnected from the crank shaft it may be swung so far as to disengage the hoop lugs 45 fromthe hoop guides 35, thus permitting the entire rod'to be twisted or rotated, after which it can be` swung laterally kto tilt the spherical Vdome. far enoughto pass out between the hoop guides. .If in some cases this is found to be ydiflicult the hoop guidesmay readily be made detachable' from the skirt of the piston sleeve. .f v

Lubrication is automatic and thorough. Oil scraped from the cylinder naturally enllO .y ters the transverse slots .23, the'rebyfL reaching Athe spherical 'surface of the .dome as'. itfrocks to .and iro,` while portions ofoil 'accumulati-- ing here will readily' descend along-thehoop portions ofthe head and down the surfaces Vof the hoop guides, these `parts also' receivingoil from the splash in the crank case.v

An additional advantage of the present invention. is the-effective lengthening' ofthe center-to-center connection between the piston and the crak'shaft, andthis tendsto improve the smoothness of action and reduce slapping.'

For some purposes the present invention may be considered in the broad aspect oi its possible application,.not merely to an engine converting fluid pressure into rotation, but to an inversion thereof such as a compressor;

Iand in either aspect the invention maybeide- .Y

scribed as consisting of a piston and pitman construction wherein is comprised.V a rocking dome, of spherical or' other workable' shape, f constituting va head tothe pijtman oracion-.-v

- necting rod, .in combination with an open Y tion. Since many matters of'operation, combination, arrangement, construction and de-v tail-may be variously modified without de-V Vparting from the principles hereof it is not.-

piston tube or sleeve slidable in its cylinder,

the sleevev and the dome hav-ing a pressure tight rocking or oscillating fit, and the dome receiving directly a substantial part 4ofthe fluid pressure, while-the sleeve acts as a slidingishoe working in the cylinder.

rlrhere has' thusbeen described a novelrpis'- ton and pitmanl construction, for engines'or the like, embodying the principles and Vat-'V taining.v the advantagesof the present invenintended to limit the invention-to such'niatters exceptsofar asset VVforth in the appended claims.

.fWhat i'sclaimed is:V *1

1.1111- combnaton, a tubular piston hav. ing an upper band portion and a lowerskirt portion, a connecting rod having a spherical o, or rocking head disposed within -the-piston,.

f' spherical or curved guides on the inner 'side f of the skirt for engaging the headbelo'w the center thereof, and 'a slit sealing ring fitted in the rband portion of the piston to engage the head above its center, whereby the Vhead is confined between saidy guides and ring, and

the band portion being ormedwith a shoul der above and confining said-slit ringy 2. A pistonand pitmanconstruotion coniprising a rock-ing dome as a head .tothe pit-V Inan, and an openpiston sleeve, the twohiiv-Y ing a pressure tight rocking it, and said sleeve being so slitted as to 'render its circumference resilient at allpoints, na1ne1y,by opposite transverse slits nearly meeting atthe twov sides, vertical slits from "near such meeting point to one end of the sleeve, and oppovsite vertical slits from the transverseslits to the other end of the sleeve.

3.". Apiston sleeve combined with'iapitman raarste 'cnrrying rocking means closingthe sleeve, 'f and said sleevefpartiallyslitted transversely Yto.orxnzupp'er and lower sections and each -section :slitted longitudinally for its full length. n g Y 145A piston v`ofthe class described,V comprising 3a tubular body having separated transverse slots `intermediate its endsV to pro-V videfia circularfband and a 'depending skirt, Said :band land skirt being longitudinally slotted in diderent Vplanes to render the same indep'cndentlyrexpansible.

'5. A piston of the class described, comprisingatubular'body having diametrically opposed transverse slotsdntermediate its ends 'to provide a circular band and a de- ;pendingskirt, said band being longitudinallyslotted'in. the thrust plane of the piston,

.and the skirt being longitudinally slotted in a plane substantially perpendicular to the ,thrust plane.

" 6. A piston andpitman construction coinvli'rising a piston sleeve open from endoto 'ision thereof. if Y $7. A. pistonandpitman construction comprising-ga, rocking dome Aas a head to the pitman, and la pistonv sleeve slidable inthe cylinder, Vthe dome and sleeve above the rocli- `ing center, having circumferentially engagfzingspherical surfaced-and below the. roching centerthepitman having a concentric jecting parts confining the, hoop in engagementY with theguides. I

8. A construction as in claim 7 and where- 'inthe confining parts are lugs carried on thejh'oOp andwsliding along the-guide or :guides and Vadapted by excessive rocking .to

disengage-the guidek or guides and permit rotation and-removal of the, pitman.

9. A construction asinV claim- 7 and wherein the confining parts are lugs carried on the hoop and sliding alongthe-guide or guides, one, of the guidesV4 cutaway to receive such -lug uponabnormal rocking `of the pitinan and permit bodily rotation of the pitman.

10. A construction `as in claim 7 and whereinthe spherical surface of the sleeve is formed on a removable pressure ring confined above by a'shoulder and removable below by tilting.

In testimony whereof, I have affixed my signatureV hereto.

PEB-RY.- conn SMITH.

-; archedvv hoop. and thesleevejhaving at the l Y'tl`1rustsid'es. arc guides forming vbearingsk for the sides of thearched hoop, with pro- 

